All about how to prevent diabetes.

How To Afford Your Diabetic Supplies

Diabetes is hard on a person’s body but it is also very tough on a person’s budget. The newly diagnosed diabetic is often shocked at the cost of diabetic testing supplies.

The expensive part of diabetes is the daily monitoring of your blood glucose levels.

In order to properly control diabetes, a diabetic must test their blood sugar levels several times a day. This testing is done using diabetic testing meters, diabetic testing strips and diabetic lancets. While a diabetic meter lasts for quite a while, diabetic testing strips and diabetic lancets are used just once. Many diabetics go through hundreds of diabetic testing strips each month.

If you need insulin to control your blood sugar it really gets expensive! A diabetic using insulin every day can spend hundreds or more each month to manage and measure their blood glucose levels.

The cost of these testing supplies and medicine can easily break a family’s budget. Some people with diabetes have to cut back on testing or on insulin because it is too expensive.

Many diabetics have found cheaper ways to get the supplies they need.

Diabetics who can qualify for government health insurance consider themselves lucky.

People covered by Medicare and Medicaid often get most of their supplies for free from the government. These programs provide meters, diabetic testing strips and lancets to those in need.

If you are one of those who “slip through the cracks” and don’t qualify for Medicare, you should consider trying store branded testing supplies. These off-brand diabetic care items often cost 60 or 70 percent less than the expensive advertised brands. The results from these brands are just as reliable.

You can also get branded testing supplies or generic testing supplies at a discount on the internet. Many diabetics have more testing supplies than they need because they have generous insurance packages or because they have switched meters or are not testing as often as they should.

Try searching for your testing strips and testing supplies on Amazon or even on Craig’s List. There are lots of drug stores on the internet that carry diabetic test strips and glucose meters. You will find the price to be much lower than Walmart. If a box with dents or a short expiration date is acceptable, you can save even more.

If the cost of diabetes is getting you down, check out the savings you can get on the internet.

Joanie Westin was recently diagnosed with diabetes and is now determined to find alternatives to the high cost of diabetes management. She encourages folks with extra blood glucose strips to sell blood glucose stripsso that other diabetics can get the supplies they need. She also encourages us to stay informed with the latest events about diabetes. Check out resources for diabeticsright here.